SNOLLYGOSTER RULES

OVERVIEW

Snollygoster is a space themed card game of survival, teamwork, and a little sabotage. The goal is to escape an alien planet before the food supply runs out. Your actions are guided by a Hidden Agenda given to you at the beginning of the game. Pushing your agenda earns you points, but push too hard and players may turn on you. End each turn by drawing from the Event Deck in the hopes of acquiring fuel. The more fuel you have the better. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.

OBJECTIVE:

Push your Hidden Agenda and collect as much Fuel as possible. Surviving also helps.

HOW THE GAME ENDS:

A Launch card is successfully played or everyone dies.

HOW TO WIN:

Have the most points at the end of game based on your Agenda and Fuel cards.

SETUP

Pick a dealer. Whoever ate bacon last is a great choice. Dealer, read carefully.

2. Organize the Action, Event, and Agenda cards into separate decks and shuffle them. Cut the Event deck in half.

3. Sort the Tag cards by character. Have everyone pick a character or decide for them. Players should take their Tag cards and keep them nearby.

4. Deal one Agenda card to each player face down. They should keep their Agenda nearby for reference. It's important that no one else looks at this card except the player it's been dealt to. They may not show their Agenda to anyone, but they can say what it is. Of course, they're probably lying.

5. Deal everyone a hand of four Action cards. Those cards are also for their eyes only.

6. Pass the top half of the Event deck around once. Each player selects a Food card, safe or unsafe, and places it face down in front of any player. No player can have more than three Food cards in front of them, and no one may look at the Food cards on the table. Repeat the process one more time with the bottom half of the Event deck, but in reverse player order.

7. Shuffle the Event deck back together and place it in the central area of play next to the Action deck.

8. Your setup should look like the example below once you're finished. Good job, dealer!

PLAYING THE GAME

The player left of the dealer goes first.

There are three stages in a turn in this order: DRAW, ACTION, and EVENT.

1.) DRAW:

Draw from the Action Deck until you have four cards in your hand. Don't draw if you already have four cards. (Example: If you are holding one card, then draw three)

2.) ACTION:

Play as many Action cards as you like and/or discard any cards to free up your hand for your next turn. This is the only time you may play Action cards unless stated otherwise on the card.

3.) EVENT:

To end your turn, draw two cards from the Event deck. Choose the one you wish to keep and return the other card to the bottom of the deck face down. If you chose a Fuel card, place it next to your Tag cards. If you chose a Food card, place it in any Player Stash face down (don't let anyone else see this card). If you chose a Hunger card, show it to everyone and eat the required amount of food from your own stash, and then discard the Hunger card.

Play continues clockwise around the table.

Player Stash:

Every player has a personal stash in front of them to store Food cards. It holds up to three Food cards. It cannot exceed three Food cards, but it can be empty.

Using Food Cards:

Hungry and Starving Cards will instruct you to use one or two Food Cards, respectively. To do so, first select a Food Card from your Player Stash and have every player acknowledge your selection. Then reveal the Food card. If it's safe, you live to see another turn. If it's unsafe, you're now in Quarantine. (Continue reading to learn about Quarantine) You may eat from another Player Stash if either they voluntarily donate a Food card to you or you take their Food card in exchange for a Fuel card; They may not refuse the latter. If there is a shortage of Food cards available to you, you have died of starvation. Discard any Food cards after eating them if you're not in Quarantine. If you were put in Quarantine, keep the unsafe Food card face up in your stash to denote your status. That Food card does not take up a space in your Player Stash. If the Food card was tagged, return the Tag to the respective owner.

Quarantine:

If you eat an unsafe Food card without first using an Antidote, you are now in Quarantine. Discard all of the Food cards in your Player Stash except the unsafe Food card you ate. You may not add Food cards to the table (to prevent further contamination). If you draw two Food cards from the Event deck, discard both and draw again. You also may not switch your Player Stash with anyone. You can still steal Food cards, and other players can place Food cards in your stash. If you eat another unsafe Food card while under Quarantine, you're super dead. You can not leave the planet while under Quarantine. Otherwise, continue to play as normal. To get out of Quarantine, place a pair of Fuel Cards in the discard pile during a single turn.

Inspecting Food:

During your Action Stage, play an Inspect card. Select an untagged Food card, privately view it, and return it face down. Place one of your Tag cards on the Food card as safe or unsafe. You can lie your pants off. Tags cannot be removed or altered by anyone until the Food card is no longer in play. Tags remain with the Food card until it's either used or discarded.

Fuel:

Fuel is required to launch the escape pod. Whoever plays a Launch card gets to select who goes with them, but the total fuel between the players departing must at least equal the required amount. Fuel is also a good bargaining chip. You can offer fuel to others when you need help. You also have the option to forcibly take one food of your choice from any player in exchange for one of your fuels. You can then eat that Food card if your own Player Stash has been rationed, for example.

Anyone can be left behind. You can also launch and take anyone you want with you regardless if they want to leave or not. Just make sure there is enough total fuel between you and the players coming along.

You Lied:

If it's ever revealed you incorrectly tagged a Food card (even a Food card you used), you must discard your hand immediately.

You Died:

If you die before the game ends, you no longer get a turn, but you can still win depending on how well you pushed your Agenda. Place your hand in the Action discard pile and shuffle it back into the Action deck. Without looking at the Food cards in your Player Stash, place them on top of the Event deck and return any Tag cards. Place any Fuel cards you have in the Event discard pile. Then shuffle the Event discard pile back into the Event deck. Any food you tagged in any other stash remains in play.

Ending the Game:

The game ends if one of two things occur: either a Launch card is played successfully or everyone dies. A Launch card can be played at any time so long as the minimum amount of fuel required is met. The fuel can exceed the minimum requirement. Any players left behind are considered dead.

If only one player remains, they must launch on their next available Action stage. If they cannot, they perish.

Survivors get a point for each Fuel card they possess. Then all Hidden Agenda cards are revealed and the points are tallied. Whoever has the most points wins! In the event of a tie, whoever played the Launch card wins. If neither played the Launch card, whoever has the most fuel wins. If everyone died and there's a tie, whoever died last wins.

WHAT DO I DO IF...

If there isn't food left in the Event deck half during setup, switch to the other half for the remainder of setup.

If you draw two Food cards from the Event deck and all stashes are already full, discard both and draw again.

If I steal a Food card, can I add it to any stash? Yes.

If you use all five of your Tag cards, you cannot inspect anymore food until a Tag Card is returned to you.

If you're in Quarantine, your Player Stash may not be switched with another stash.